Jaguar to launch its luxurious I-PACE SUV in 2018

It is expected to match if not exceed amenities provided by Tesla’s Model X. The Jaguar is after all a symbol of class.

Southern California is certainly not new to tech offerings, but a battery-powered Jaguar SUV is certainly a crowd drawer.

Jaguar’s all-electric I-PACE concept SUV, is a preview of the model the company intends on selling within the next two years. Replete with high end technologies it signals a change in how technology and regulation have weaned consumer from cheap gas, thus forcing auto manufacturers to change production from traditional lanes.

With California having a legal mandate that zero-emission vehicles should make up 15% of the state’s auto sales by 2025, the sunshine state is driving automakers to roll out carbon-free vehicles with increased fervor.

As per Jaguar’s executives, its move is a response to that line of thought.

Jaguar’s own research has indicated that a quarter of Jaguar owners would prefer a battery-powered vehicle.

“There’s no doubt the market is shifting,” said Joe Eberhardt, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover North America. “There are differing views of how rapidly that shift is happening and to what degree. We want to be prepared.”

Currently 20% of Jaguar’s North American sales happen in California.

“It’s a very fluid time in the industry and I don’t think there is a right or wrong or specific answer to what the next 10 years will be,” said Eberhardt. “Which means we have to be flexible enough…to see what direction the market will take.”

For the period of January to October, Jaguar has enjoyed strong U.S. sales of its 2017 F-PACE SUV, which saw its sales figures jump by 93%.

Jaguar’s new SUV, stated to hit the retail market sometime in 2018, will feature a 90kWh lithium-ion battery pack and has an impressive range of 220 miles. TATA Motors built the SUV from the ground up.

Eberhardt stated that the I-PACE will provide the same luxuries consumers associate with Tesla’s Model X but it will be at “a much lower price point” than the premium demanded by Tesla’s Model X, which when fully loaded costs a whopping $130,000.

Although other luxury car makers, including BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz, have announced their all-electric SUVs, Eberhardt opines that Jaguar is likely to beat them to market.

“Out of the established car makers, we really are the first. Which has advantages but on the other hand it’s unchartered territory.”